Eisenkot: After the F-16 was shot down, Netanyahu did not answer, so I made the decision for a broad attack on my own
At the "Time of Decision: Democracy and Society" conference organized by Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth in collaboration with the Israel Democracy Institute, the chairman of the Yashar! party recounted that when he served as Chief of Staff in 2018, after Air Force pilots abandoned a downed aircraft, he could not reach the Prime Minister for two hours and decided on his own to carry out strikes in Syria. Eisenkot called on parties on the verge of the electoral threshold to "show responsibility in order to bring down the worst government since the state's founding."
The chairman of the Yashar! party, Gadi Eisenkot, was interviewed this morning (Wednesday) as part of the "Time of Decision: Democracy and Society" conference organized by Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth in collaboration with the Israel Democracy Institute. Eisenkot recounted that in 2018, when he served as Chief of Staff, after an Air Force plane was abandoned by its pilots due to a hit from Syrian anti-aircraft fire, he could not reach Prime Minister Netanyahu for a period of two hours and made the decision to carry out a broad attack in Syria on his own.
According to him: "On January 10, 2018, we attacked a trailer in Syria that had sent a UAV to Israel, and during the operation, an F-16 plane was shot down at 05:00 in the morning. The pilots, to my relief, parachuted into our territory. I saw this as a very serious incident. I am the Chief of Staff, and I decided together with the head of Aman and the Air Force commander to carry out a very broad attack and ensure the destruction of Syrian batteries. I asked to update and consult with the Prime Minister, I could not succeed for an hour or two — and I took the decision to carry out a very broad attack of destroying Syrian anti-aircraft batteries and destroying Iranian targets, and suddenly he appeared in the Air Force command center after 3-4 hours, when I had tried through his military secretary to reach him or update him and consult with him. The military secretary said he could not reach him, 'do what you understand.' To his credit, when he arrived, he gave backing to my moves. Although there were plans to continue and attack, he stopped the attacks before the very important attack."
Eisenkot addressed the conspiracy theories echoed by the Prime Minister's environment: "Netanyahu's environment is cultivating the conspiracy theory to clarify how the greatest failure since the state's founding happened. I heard him yesterday say that 'it is not treason, it is a failure.' It is much more than a failure, it is deep negligence that happened on his watch, and he thinks he can manipulate the train of thought of the citizens of the State of Israel. I know that starting from 3:30 in the morning his office, his assistant from intelligence receives the report and the picture that was in the hands of the Chief of Staff and the head of the Shin Bet."
When asked if the Prime Minister's intelligence advisor knew about unusual activity in Gaza at 3:30 at night, Eisenkot replied: "Unequivocally. I say this from knowledge. His office receives the intelligence details that accumulate as soon as it stands before the eyes of the Chief of Staff and the head of the Shin Bet. He needs to ask how he built an environment that does not update him with important information details, and he can come with complaints to himself why they did not update him."
Eisenkot addressed the Prime Minister's words on Channel 14 that "if Eisenkot is elected, it will be the beginning of the end of the State of Israel": "This is a hysterical and irresponsible statement, he knows like me what power was built here in 80 years. Israel is very strong, the IDF is very strong, and the question is what we will do to strengthen Israeli society — after a rift has opened in recent years and mutual responsibility has been damaged. I think this is an inappropriate statement."
Regarding the possibility of merging lists with Naftali Bennett's Beyachad, Eisenkot said: "There is a leadership decision here and a desire to show the citizens of Israel a large party that knows how to win and knows how to govern. I am examining all options and asking one simple question — 'what brings victory to the Zionist state coalition, and what allows on the 28th of the month to establish a sustainable government that knows how to lead the state in national consensus, and to unite it in the face of future challenges.'" Should the chairman of Blue and White, Benny Gantz, resign? "I appeal to all parties on the border of the electoral threshold to show responsibility. We will not forgive ourselves if what happened in previous elections happens because of political games. We need to do everything to bring a message to the State of Israel and replace the worst government since the state's founding."
